The National Union of Romanian Hauliers (UNTRR) welcomes the political agreement reached regarding the enlargement of the Schengen Area with Romania and Bulgaria's air and sea borders starting from March 2024, but calls on Romanian and European authorities to also establish a clear date for the enforcement of the Schengen visa-free rules for land borders as well, starting in 2024."Schengen accession is an important and much-awaited step by Romanian passengers and transport operators, which should have been achieved as early as in 2011, when the European institutions found that Romania meets all the technical requirements for admission. Given that all passenger data are at the disposal of air transport operators, the enlargement of the Schengen Area with Romania's air borders could have been accomplished a long time ago. There is obviously no justification of a technical nature for the delay, the reasons are political, the members of the EU club have chosen to punish Romania and Bulgaria and reduce their competitiveness all this time, curbing their development potential. Yet now, Romania's joining the Schengen with the land borders is an emergency for road freight carriers whose efficiency is currently severely penalized through the extremely long waiting times (about 30 - 36 hours daily between Romania and Bulgaria) and for coach operators, in order to avoid the significant administrative burden arising from the new obligations of verifying passenger data in the European EES and ETIAS travel registration and authorization systems starting from next year," UNTRR secretary general Radu Dinescu said, as cited in a release of the organization.According to a report conducted by UNTRR this year on the impact on road freight of Romania being kept out of Schengen, the industry incurred losses of 2.41 billion euros."We request the urgent setting of a definite date for Romania's Schengen entry with land borders too, and if there are certain special requirements, they should be clearly mentioned in order to have a precise reference regarding the accession calendar and the goals to be achieved. The criteria the other members of the EU club want Romania and Bulgaria to fulfill must not exceed the general framework and the technical requirements for admission," said Dinescu.UNTRR representatives point out that the road transport industry, which with 7.66 billion euros in 2022 is Romania's largest exporter of services, is the economic branch most affected by Romania being kept out of Schengen.
More than 2 out of 3 Romanian consumers do not return for a second purchase, according to the new Customer Loyalty Index, a comprehensive analysis based on aggregated data from campaigns and authored by White Image, the oldest email marketing company in Romania. The Index analyzes the post-purchase behavior of Romanian consumers and highlights major […]
Fashion retailer Primark announced major plans to expand its presence in Romania, confirming four new store openings for 2026. This will double its presence in the market and create over 450 new jobs. The announcement arrived at an important moment for the company, which marked three years since the opening of its first Romanian store […]
Romania’s National Road Investment Company (CNIR) awarded on Tuesday, December 16, the contract for the design and construction of the Bacău–Piatra Neamț express road to a Romanian–Bulgarian consortium. The value of the contract is RON 5.17 billion (some EUR 1 billion), excluding VAT, and its signing will take place if no appeals are filed. The […]
Romania will host its first mixed team European Judo Championship in 2027, according to the Romanian Judo Federation. The competition will take place at a key moment in the Olympic cycle, when the points earned will directly influence world rankings and qualification for the Olympic Games, according to FR Judo. The event will...
Radu Miruță, currently Romania’s economy minister, was proposed to lead the Defense Ministry. He will also hold the position of deputy prime minister. In his place, senator Irineu Darău has been proposed to take the helm of the Economy Ministry. The Defense and Economy Ministries are handled by the center-right reformist party Save Romania Union […]
Carrefour Romania has expanded its proximity retail network, reaching 200 Express stores and 191 Market locations nationwide, as part of its strategy to strengthen convenience formats. The retailer announced that the 200th Carrefour Express store will open on December 22. In 2025 alone, Carrefour opened 27 Express stores, including 19 company-operated units and eight franchise […]
